Congress & Policy
How does a bill become a law?
Seven steps, and most bills die at the second one. What actually has to happen, who can stop it, and why the textbook version leaves out the part that matters.
Independent · Nonpartisan · Not a government website
How federal economic policy works, in plain language.
FEDPOLICY.ORG explains the Federal Reserve, federal spending and debt, and the way Congress moves money — what each thing is, how it works, and what just changed — for a reader who has no background in any of it and no wish to be told what to think.
- 01 Standing explainers, kept current. Each subject has one page that is revised in place, with its publish and last-updated dates on it, rather than a new article every time.
- 02 Figures from the agency that published them. Every number is fetched from the Federal Reserve, Treasury, BLS, Congress.gov or FRED and shown with its “as of” period and the date it was retrieved. A figure that has not been read is not shown.
- 03 Edited, not all hand-written. Clem Ziroli III edits every page. Some text is drafted with algorithmic and AI systems and reviewed before it goes out; the methodology says how, and what is fact and what is interpretation.
Latest explainers
Congress & Policy
What is a filibuster?
The Senate rule that turns 51 votes into 60. It is not in the Constitution, it is rarely a speech, and it decides most of what Congress does not do.
The Federal Reserve
What causes inflation?
Too much demand, too little supply, and what people expect next. Three mechanisms, each with a different remedy.
Glossary
Appropriations
The annual laws that give federal agencies legal authority to spend money.
Live data
Fed funds target
3.50–3.75%
as of Sep 2, 2026 · Federal Reserve
CPI, 12-month
3.5%
as of Jul 1, 2026 · BLS
Total public debt
$40.1T
as of Sep 1, 2026 · Treasury
Total public debt outstanding
$40,112,464,593,206
Estimated now, extrapolated from the published figure at the average rate of the last twelve months — about $7.6 billion a day. These digits are a projection, not a Treasury reading.
Published figure $40,112,464,593,206
Clock after the one at
govspending.org,
a sibling publication in our network.
New here? Start with these four.
Each one assumes nothing, and each links on to the next.
- 01 What is the Federal Reserve?
- 02 What is the FOMC?
- 03 The Fed's dual mandate, explained
- 04 What happens when interest rates rise
Or jump to questions answered, the glossary, the live data, or ten questions to test yourself.
The numbers, as we last read them
Every series, with its chart →Fed funds target
3.50–3.75%
as of Sep 2, 2026 · Federal Reserve
CPI, 12-month
3.5%
as of Jul 1, 2026 · BLS
Total public debt
$40.1T
as of Sep 1, 2026 · Treasury
30-year mortgage
6.66%
as of Aug 27, 2026 · Freddie Mac
What just happened
No dated posts yet. Standing explainers are maintained continuously; timestamped posts appear here when something happens — the next scheduled one is the FOMC's decision.
The Federal Reserve
FOMC, the dual mandate, QE and QT, the balance sheet, and how a rate decision reaches the economy.
Federal Spending & Debt
The debt, deficits, appropriations, CBO projections, entitlements and interest costs.
Congress & Policy
How bills become law, committees, and the votes that move fiscal policy.
Related from our network
congressvotetracker.org
Recorded House and Senate votes, by member